


This Woman's Work

by mikamikanat



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Assassins & Hitmen, Bipolar Disorder, Brief homophobia, Canon Rewrite, F/F, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, MTF Kirumi Tojo, Nonbinary Shinguji Korekiyo, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, autistic characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28822782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikamikanat/pseuds/mikamikanat
Summary: “Just like that, now lean in…”She did as told and adjusted the grip on her rifle. The steel was too heavy for her small arms and her form was clumsy. There was a slight shake to her hands born from immaturity and grey weather.In her lessons, she was taught that you never shoot from a long-range because it makes too much noise and you’d be found quickly; it’s best to smother someone with a pillow and then shove your gun into it before pulling the trigger.That’s too much knowledge for a thirteen-year-old pulled right out of the orphanage a few days ago to know. She feels badly for leaving her friend to take care of the younger kids, it was always hard to do by herself on days where the other was sick- she can’t imagine taking care of that many children.BANGSlightly off the mark- then again, it doesn’t matter if you don’t shoot in the direct center of the head. So long as the bullet doesn’t graze the skull and spare them.“Good job, Tojo.”
Relationships: Harukawa Maki/Tojo Kirumi, Shinguji Korekiyo/Tojo Kirumi
Kudos: 15





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!! This is a rewrite of V3 from the perspective of Kirumi. There are a LOT of story changes to the plot of V3 including some of the backstories for characters. They don't deviate from the source material in that I am building on information we already know. Things like motives and killing orders will be changed so that this story doesn't become predictable AND so that I will have the time to develop on Kirumi herself. I have a lot of feelings about chapter 2 but I won't go into them now. Please enjoy!

“Just like that, now lean in…” 

She did as told and adjusted the grip on her rifle. The steel was too heavy for her small arms and her form was clumsy. There was a slight shake to her hands born from immaturity and grey weather.

In her lessons, she was taught that you never shoot from a long-range because it makes too much noise and you’d be found quickly; it’s best to smother someone with a pillow and then shove your gun into it before pulling the trigger. 

That’s too much knowledge for a thirteen-year-old pulled right out of the orphanage a few days ago to know. She feels badly for leaving her friend to take care of the younger kids, it was always hard to do by herself on days where the other was sick- she can’t imagine taking care of that many children.

BANG

Slightly off the mark- then again, it doesn’t matter if you don’t shoot in the direct center of the head. So long as the bullet doesn’t graze the skull and spare them. 

“Good job, Tojo.” 

///

Some of these people were in fact looking for a maid coincidentally. Kirumi thought it would be smart to disguise herself as a family maid for these important people; she would sooner be blamed for thievery rather than murder. She would have a relatively normal cover job, and the skills she learned from the orphanage helped. 

Staying in one place for a long time made her less sad, winning the favorability for whoever she worked with by performing domestic tasks granted her extra pleasures (these people were rich, after all). 

The thing she found uncomfortable were the kids. The moms were often as busy as the dads, and children tend to latch onto the first woman who can cook, clean, and take care of them as their parental figure. Kirumi felt guilty; these children didn’t know what their parents hired her for. Here she is in a strange juxtaposition, acting as a mom yet being a killer.

She scolds herself- better to not dwell, and tells the children not to call her mom from now on out of respect for their real mother.

They nod their heads and eat their food. 

  
  


///

Japan was pleasantly surprised that their newly elected Prime Minister had a teenage daughter. She never appeared until the scarce end of the election period; everyone assumed that he had kept her from the press so she could live a normal life for as long as possible before she’d be pulled into a life of press surveillance and private schools. 

The truth is: she was his own secret service. She’d been an assassin for years at this point, being tossed around to increasingly important figures until she was now second in command. She felt she had been taking care of millions of tiny people more than the Prime Minister was. She always thought he was incompetent, though part of her orders was to act as his daughter in public and be his maid in private.

///

Kirumi had been given the most exquisite gender-confirming surgery in America years ago from a wealthier family. She was thankful for it, but she now had to layer up to cover her chest when in disguise. Her heavy rifle (she had been used to a close-ranged pistol)- in addition to the bulky outfit- made her stance clumsy. The wet summer heat gave her hands a slow drawl to them and melted her makeup. Her reflexes had softened while she was performing her maidly duties and helping the Prime Minister with campaigning for months.

She had been in a large field to kill a press woman who had been looking too deep into her ‘father’. When she saw the woman exit her truck, she aimed.

BANG

The bullet grazed her head. She had been too clumsy. She was chased, questioned, and found guilty by police days later. It wouldn’t have been too troubling had she not been crowded by cameras the weeks before and had her makeup not melted. But it was too late:

She was a dead ringer for the Prime Minister’s teenage daughter.

  
  


\\\\\

While in custody she was at least permitted to see where she would be going: a place for important, talented people. Her cover work as a maid who fulfilled any request was enough to make her qualify. She wondered if the Prime Minister leased her punishment to save face. She figured she’d never see him again after this. She ached that the organization might not take her back after being in the face of the public.

This was supposed to be her last stop, at the second-highest. 

She flipped through the pages.

Gifted Inmates Academy, only a few selected people who just happened to make a ‘little’ mistake were admitted. Their talents were often considered to be too valuable to put in a regular state facilitated prison. Kirumi wondered if she was even talented, or if she had mistaken herself. She knows how many strings were pulled for her.

She looked at the list of fellow inmates- a group of thirteen other convicts- and two particularly talented prodigies serving the law. One was in an internship as a law enforcement agent: Shuichi Saihara. 

The other was Ryoma Hoshi, an ex-convict serving parole by helping misguided souls. She thinks she recognizes his name from T.V.

Kirumi flips the page and sees the name Maki Harukawa. She remembers a girl from the orphanage who had the same first name, the one who she left behind when she was “adopted”. 

Maki is a common Japanese first name, so she doesn’t think too hard about it. A guard calls for her to wrap up her downtime. 

Kirumi sits in the back of a van with a few other people, all going to different prisons.

She’s given a sedative and blindfolded so that she doesn’t know where she’s going. She curses herself; her training allowed her to accurately guess the number of miles traveled and keep track of right turns and left turns. She knew what cities neighbored what and people to go to if she ever escaped. Kirumi doesn’t have the privilege now, she supposes, she made the mistake of being too careless. She falls asleep a few minutes after and her dreams swirl in and out...in and out...in and out.

She sees only colors in her dreams. Muffled noises from outside her head cause them to glow brighter. There are long periods where she just dreams of the dark. Her conscious bleeds in and out, though she cannot bring herself to wake up.

She prays this ride won’t be too long.

///

She’s in an empty classroom. Her body feels older, somehow. Her bones creak after her long sleep and she wets her dry lips with her tongue, blinking her eyes open.

The classroom is ill-kept. Vines and foliage grow on the cracked walls. There are leaky ceilings and puddles on the floor that have moss growing in them. Maybe if she cleans up the place she’ll get more privileges, she thinks, before she hears metal scraping from the lockers. 

She looks down to see if she has her weapon Hollister and notices her maid uniform. Weird. She wouldn’t lie and say she didn’t feel a little violated if someone asks her. Regardless, she does not have any tools to protect her, so she readies her stance and prepares for the worst as a locker’s door dents from someone banging their body against it.

“Aaaa… AAAAAAAHHHH….” a clunk of metal with a pubescent voice falls out of the locker. 

“Owww….. Owww…. Oh, my clothes are scratched now….” 

Kirumi decides that the voice is more robotic than pubescent. ‘Probably looking at a robot’, she finally accepts, feeling a bit dumb. 

“Do you need any help?” she asked, lowering her guard.

“OHHH…. Oh, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I was just spooked by the cramped space, I tried opening the door but there’s no handle from the inside. Sorry, again...” His aluminum eyelids shut and the light on his collar shows buffering symbols.

“...”

“OH! My apologies,” His eyes light up, “I forgot to introduce myself. My name is K-1-B-0, though my dad just calls me Kiibo, you can call me that too if you wish!!! If you need my robotic assistance ever just let me know!” He bows with his hands to his side.

Kirumi thinks it would be appropriate to hold out her hand for a handshake, but she wonders if this robot even knows how to do that. She nods her head and bows at the knees before she speaks,

“Kirumi Tojo. There is a leak in this ceiling, and if you are wired, we might want to move you away from this room.” 

Kiibo’s head rotates and whirs to look at a nearby puddle, “Oh yes! That sounds like a good idea, thank you for your consideration Miss Tojo.” He holds up his hand to his chin as if in thought. “We should also see if there are other people!” 

“I was just about to suggest the same thing. Are you here to serve a sentence as well?” 

“Uhhh… I’m not sure what you mean. This looks like a classroom. I don’t think this is a prison.”

Kirumi wonders if the robot knows it’s a convict. She did see his more simple name on the convict list she was given.

“Were you at any point made aware that you would be here?”

“No, I don’t think so. The last thing I remember was operating surgery on a stranger and then I think dad turned my power off.”

‘Faulty medical practice…’, Kirumi thinks.

“Well, I don’t think that’s important right now. When you get a chance to phone your father maybe ask him about his liability to you as your creator.” 

Kirumi dusts her skirt and holds the door open for Kiibo before exiting to an equally wet and worn hallway. Kiibo seems to know to avoid wet spots- she’ll make sure to mop for his sake later. To the left of the hallway she sees a group of three in conversation:

A monstrously tall man with tangled green hair, ‘no shoes’ she notes, a short girl with red hair wearing a witch hat, and a tall skinny person wearing a facemask and medical bandages. The skinny one makes eye contact with her while still facing the rest. Their posture is weirdly snake-like. Kirumi makes sure to keep her posture confident, head level, and appear capable as she walks towards them.

“Gonta doesn’t understand, why would we need to think to defend ourselves. We should have the best faith in people.”

“Nmmmm… well Gonta should still think to be self-preserving. I guess you don’t have to think to defend yourself since you have such big muscles… maybe people are too scared to fight you.”

“No one should be scared of Gonta, Gonta nice person! Are you scared of Gonta? Please say no…”

“Ehhh you remind me of a bear… a big teddy bear… I’m not scared of you! My magic makes up for my small body.”

“It’s likely that monster still lurks nearby… this hardship gnaws at me, but it does seem we have visitors, Yumeno and Gokuhara… Why don’t we let them in on our dilemma?”

Gokuhara and Yumeno look to where Korekiyo is facing, and Kirumi stops herself at a comfortable distance, Kiibo hiding behind her.

“Ehh? Oh those guys, I saw the lady sleeping in the room earlier while peeking through windows.”

“And you did not bother to wake her, how rude Yumeno… If you’ll forgive our dear friend’s inconsideracy-”

“Hey…”

“... If you’ll forgive our dear friend’s inconsideracy and let us let you in on our dilemma- my name is Korekiyo Shinguji by the way, that is Gonta Gokuhara, and that is Himiko Yumeno. I see a beautifully odd person behind yourself as well. Anyways…”

Kirumi raises her brow, Korekiyo worries theirs.

“My apologies... I seem to be all over the place, and you are so...delightfully intimidating… it beseeches myself to soak in your presence.” Kirumi notes the flattery and chooses to ignore it. 

“...May you please tell me what your problem is so I can help you, I overheard you mention a monster lurking nearby.”

“Yes! A giant, mechanical animal chased us. Gokuhara made footprints out of the water towards the gym and crept back over here to confuse it on our whereabouts; he’s actually quite clever despite his manner of speech… I find it intriguing… but, regardless, we fear to turn the corner lest it hears us, and we fear of potential prison guards becoming hostile, since we are roaming free from where we awoke.” 

“I don’t fear prison guards... I don’t even know why I’m locked up, to be honest, it’s pretty stupid and petty and unfair.” pouts Himiko.

“Your name was on the list of residents I was given underneath a tab of convicts, so you are here for a reason, Yumeno.” Everyone looks at her. 

“Mneh….”

“I think a solution to your dilemma would be to find more people. There are a total of sixteen people who are staying here, and right now we have five. We might be able to disarm what you saw with more gifted people.”

“Yes that sounds lovely, now if we-” 

Tap Tap Tap

They all look towards a loudspeaker they hadn’t noticed.

A lilted, cutesy voice sounds from the speakers. “Goodness, is this thing on? Can you all hear meeee? Testing testing! Here goes… All CRIMINALS…..ahem. Please make your way towards the gymnasium, I have an important announcement for you all!”

“Surely that trap… Monster went into gym moments ago.” Gonta adjusts his glasses and Himiko coughs. 

“It might be worth going anyways, I think the abilities my dad gave me might be able to disarm the monster in time if we need.” Kiibo shuffles away from Kirumi and stands proudly.

They all agree to enter the gym carefully with a nod, sure enough, four of the large mechanical animals are in the gym, however, they all seem to be disarmed.

Eleven more colorful people turn their attention to the noise of a door opening.

A plush bear perks up over a podium, 

“That seems to be everyone! Now then… same old dance and song…” 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. L'amour Looks Something Like You

Kirumi pulls on one of the vines hanging from the ceiling. It’s tangled with more vines, so it obviously won’t be as simple as asking for one to come down. She gets a ladder, clutches a knot of them, and tugs. Several splat to the floor and some take the concrete ceiling with them. The entrance is propped open so the swampy smell can air out; Kirumi doesn’t mind the smell. She knows other people will, though- a blonde woman from earlier was complaining about it. 

She discovered that several people here were very colorful. When everyone introduced themselves and their talents a day ago, several seemed to be very enthusiastic about it. She decided that she would be too. A pattern occurred in her body; she would be full of energy and self-destruction, followed by a period of intense lethargy. She liked having things to do, keeping her hands busy during the former period. One of her clients told her that sounded like bipolar depression; she chose not to think about that. 

“Here’s some water miss-ma'am.” A tiny hand with a glass appeared in the corner of her eye.

“Thank you I-” She droned out when the person below her handed her the cup.

“Ouma, what are you doing here.” Her tone was more accusatory than she wanted it to be.

“Just being nice! It looks like you’re hard at work up there. Can you see the second floor through that hole? Ooo that might be a nice peeping hole if it goes into our rooms. Wouldn’t it be so funny if you were the perviest out of the group?”

“I don’t see anything funny about spying on people undressing, no.” Not even mentioning their rooms are on the third floor and the hole only leads into the second, she internally dismisses him. She goes to wipe a window- not remembering her one hand was full of a glass. She huffs, stepping down on the ladder to place the glass on the floor. She climbs back up and continues her work. Of all the people here, she decides that Kokichi is her least favorite. Although he wasn’t the most rude, he still was annoying and made her skin crawl.

“Aww guess you don’t need that, oooops…” He kicks the glass gently to let it spill.

“You should clean that up.”

“Aww, aren’t you the maid though? Sounds like that’s your job.” 

Kirumi doesn’t reply.

“You’re no fun, Tojo.” Kokichi crosses his arms and pouts. “Hey you made us breakfast this morning, are you going to make us dinner too?”

“That is the plan, yes. I’ll be doing everyone’s laundry as well as general maintenance and cleaning. The rest of my time will be put towards requests and orders.” Neither spoke for a second.

“...You’re welcome to help me at any point if you wish. I think that would be good for y-.”

“What if I asked you to kill someone?”

Kirumi stopped wiping the window, “That’s not something to joke about, you have a very inappropriate sense of humor.”

“No I’m serious, you said earlier you can fulfill any request. Could you kill someone for me?”

Kirumi sighed and stepped down from her ladder. “You put these supplies back in the utility room. I have to pose for Angie in a little bit, and Kokichi…”

“Yeah?” He took the cleaning spray and rag from Kirumi’s hands.

“I have a strong incentive to preserve everyone’s happiness. There are limits to what I can do for you, and I earn nothing from killing anyone here. Please don’t talk to me about this again.” 

Kokichi kicked a pebble from the ceiling debris and moved his head to look around the room- squandering their time.

“Hey,” Kokichi said quietly.

“...Hey,” She responded.

“You really did make it look nicer in here.”

“Mm.” she nodded.

Kokichi side-eyed her; she didn’t know what the hell that meant. She dusted her skirt and made her leave.

///

Kirumi didn’t really have to pose for Angie like she said to Kokichi, she just needed an excuse to leave. She found herself walking towards Angie’s room anyway, just to see if she needed anything done. She had to do something with her hands to keep herself from growing restless. ‘What a freak’ she thought to herself. She knocked twice on Angie’s room.

“Angie? Are you in there?”

No response.

She decided she could start dinner and just serve a slow-cooked meal for tonight. It’s not like there wasn’t plenty to do. Almost every square inch of the facility needed to be repaired or cleaned. When she entered the dining hall, nine of the sixteen residents were circled around a table: herself, Miu, Kiibo, Tsumugi, Kaito, Kokichi, and Hoshi had all been excluded.

Kaede spoke up, “Oh! You’re here, Tojo. Sorry, we didn’t call for anyone that said they had plans today.” 

“There’s no need to apologize, what are you all gathered for?” Kirumi slowly walked towards the kitchen, giving small ‘mhm’s as Kaede spoke to show that she was listening.

“We’re discussing our plans going forward while we’re trapped here. Right now I think an alliance or trust system of some kind will be our best shot at being stable. Oh! By the way, you’re doing a great job at cleaning and feeding us! I think that’s lifted up our spirits by a bit, right everyone?”

A few people grunt.

“Eheheh… your food is really good, Tojo. Please don’t worry, would you like to join us in our conversation?” She held out her hand to an empty seat.

“That’s quite alright. I’ll just listen while I prep food for tonight.” Kirumi opened the fridge filled with fresh vegetables and meats. She was extremely grateful for Monokuma's disclaimer that they would have access to good food despite their circumstances. She cubed up a cut of beef before seasoning it and made a marinade for the beef to soak in for a few hours. The conversation from the other room lulled on, with Kaede being on the floor most of the time. It didn’t seem like everyone was too terribly enthusiastic about being here. A shy voice popped up from the table that she hadn’t heard before.

“C’mon guys, I know you don’t want to be here but can you please entertain Kaede’s thoughts a little. She’s trying her best to ease our fears and bring us together.” Saihara tips his hat downwards to hide behind it. 

“Thank you, Shuichi, you don’t really have to do that.”

“...It’s just frustrating is all.”

“Gonta likes her ideas!”

“Thank you, Gonta…” Kaede says disheartenedly. 

Kirumi ducks underneath the bussing counter that divides the kitchen from the dining room. “Pardon me, Akamatsu. But, I feel everyone is reluctant to talk because we’re not well acquainted beyond introductions. Perhaps it would be best to talk about something other than the Killing Game for a bit.” Shuichi stares at her for a worrying amount of time.

“That’s a great idea, Tojo!!! Thank you so much!” Kaede rests her fist on her palm and her eyes sparkle with delight. “We can talk about our talents! Who wants to go first, oo! Shuichi you should go first!”

“Kaede…” Saihara reels back a little from being put on the spot.

“Sorry… oh uhhh… I’ll go first and then counterclockwise. How about that!”

The group took turns talking about their talents, hobbies, and interests. Their introductions eventually muddied into a pretty balanced group conversation. Maki left the kitchen, it didn’t look like she was that interested in the meeting anyways. While in her thoughts, Kirumi decides to take a short-bladed knife from the kitchen’s supply. There were several and might be handy for their current situation. 

Kirumi shoots up when she hears the kitchen door being opened, Korekiyo being on the other side.

“Hello, Miss Tojo, sorry to frighten you…” they rubbed their palm and looked at Kirumi sauteing beef cuts, onions, and garlic. “May I ask what you’re making?” their eyes crinkled over their mask. Kirumi wishes she could read their face. 

“Beef stew with potatoes and carrots, something simple. I believe you were one of the people that grunted when Akamatsu asked everyone if they liked my cooking. Were you displeased with your breakfast?”

“Not at all… it was so delicious it made me want to cut off my tongue.” their voice wavers in delight towards the end of their sentence with their eyes crinkling once again. Kirumi believes them, if a little unsettled. 

“Right… I’m glad that worked for you. Is there anything you need right now?”

“May I watch you cook…?”

“I am almost finished with prep before I let it cook for a while, but you may stay and watch if you wish.” Kirumi went back to the meal, allowing the onions to become translucent before putting everything in a slow cooker. “Now we wait, and that’s… it unfortunately, sorry to bore you.”

They hold their finger to where Kirumi guesses their lips are. “Do not fret. It’s not your job to entertain me, I simply wanted to observe your mannerisms. I find the way people cook differently to be interesting. How they move around derives from several different factors; family, culture, past professions. Food brings us all together, and dinner is a time of communion…” Korekiyo stares at her as if they want to bare her soul. Kirumi licks her lips and rubs some sweat from underneath her jaw and over her forehead. She didn’t notice how hot the kitchen became before now. 

“I find you very compelling, Shinguji. I mean that truthfully.”

“Are you frightened of me, Miss Tojo?”  
  


“Frightened is not the right word. You behave strangely, but I don’t think you do it on purpose- so I will not blame you.”

“My horse is hitched to a post that is closer to Asperger's and autistics than narcissists and sociopaths. If that is what you are referring to.”

“Right...You called me intimidating yesterday. Do you find me intimidating, and is there something I can do to make you more comfortable?”

“You are fine as you are. You fulfill requests right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I request your time tomorrow, you seem truthful enough to help me organize the findings from my talent room.”

“Right, I’ve yet to look into my talent room. Would you mind if we look in there as well?”

“I would love to see what this facility thinks you enjoy, Tojo.”

///

Kirumi went to bed late. After dinner, she continued gutting the hallways of overgrown foliage and managed to scrub and wax the first floor clean. Some of the areas she wanted to clean had been off-limits from the curfew Monokuma had put in, like the kitchen and pool area. 

The indoor pool had a gaping hole in one of the walls that lead outdoors, so the water was filled to the brim with moss and dead bugs. Gonta had fished out the insects once he discovered the pool and rested them in the garden. Kirumi thanked him, and Gonta said that they would give nutrients to the pretty plants. 

When she was done with work, she fell asleep almost immediately. Usually she woke up an hour before the 7 am alarm so she could get some stuff done, but today she woke up with Monokuma’s voice and an announcement. The screen in her room flickered on with static before it focused on Monokuma holding a glass of scotch. 

“Ahem… Gifted Inmates Academy’s staff and admin have an announcement to make. Goooood morning, everyone! Looks like today is going to be another perfect, sunny day! Now then, let’s show some enthusiasm and make sure to give it our all today.”

Kirumi rubbed her eyes and sat up with a wince. She had put too much work on her back yesterday. A cough from the screen speakers sounded and she looked up to the screen to see Monokuma staring at her intensely, his left eye glowed bright red. She worried she was in trouble for something.

“To those of you that I’ve tuned into… please check underneath your door for some important documents. I think you’ll find them quite interesting.”

Kirumi slowly pulled the bed covers off her lap and walked towards the front of her room. There were two sheets of paper stapled on each other. The first one was blank except for a number 3 written in ink on the top corner. [The second sheet of paper...](https://imgur.com/a/dJhmnIa)

  
  
  


“Mmmmm…” Kirumi guesses from context that other people might have another person’s criminal records. She knows she’s probably not lucky enough that someone didn’t receive hers. She sets Tenko’s on her nightstand, puts a mug over it, and goes to take a shower. She wishes her maid uniform wasn’t the only thing she had here. Maybe she could sew her own clothes if she can find the right materials.

When she arrives at the dining room, a few people are sitting down. Each have two stapled papers in front of them, and Kirumi assumes they have just finished their meeting. A few people glance at Kirumi when she enters the room, and they all go back to what they were doing shortly. Kirumi notices that Kaede is laying her head in her arms.

“Is she okay?”

Himiko grunts and Amami nods his head. Kirumi nods back before going to the kitchen.

She serves everyone Gallo Pinto with a side of toast and scrambled eggs. She puts Kaede’s dish in front of her arms and taps her shoulder with her middle and ring finger. She lifts her head groggily and hums before seeing her food. “Oh, thank you, Tojo.” She eats her food slowly. Kirumi decides to sit next to her and whispers to her.

“I have to help Shinguji with organization later, but if you need me to talk with you about something I can spare some time for you.”

Kaede swallows her food and waves her hand to the side. “You don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine. Plus Shuichi is already kinda acting as my personal therapist.” She laughs insincerely to her own half-joke.

“I can get you coffee, an energy drink, something to help wake you up maybe?”

“Don’t worry about me, honestly. I’ll be fine.” 

“If you’re sure.”

Kirumi cleans her plate and waits for everyone to finish their meals before bussing the dishes and letting them soak for a bit. She sees Himiko skitter to the kitchen and open the door.

“Uhh, Kirumi can you help me with something…?”

“Sure.”

“Akamatsu said it was okay to look in these as long as we don’t let the other person know we have their record… but I don’t know who this person is. Could you tell me?”

Kirumi glances down at the paper Himiko has held out for her.

“The name on that is Miu Iruma. She’s the blonde one with the pink school uniform.”

“Oh, okay, her. It says she was charged for unlicensed firearms.”

“Sounds about right… I don’t think I needed to know that though. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if someone told another person about a crime you committed?”

“Hey… she’s not here and you don’t have to tell her…”

Kirumi sighs.

///

“Honestly very little of this has anything enriching. It feels like the books in here are more for show than substance. I’ve been to these villages! They have very rich history, there’s no need for some of these books to be so thin. Put these in late period post-classical.” Korekiyo hands Kirumi a stack of books and she puts them in an unorganized pile on the floor, suggested by Korekiyo. They said they would throw out the useless ones and then alphabetize later. They really just needed someone stronger than them to do some of the heavy lifting. 

“Does any of this interest you, Tojo? Be honest.”

“I’m drawn to the encased stuff more than the literature if I’m honest.”

“Some of those have no right to be in my possession. They are all extremely authentic, but I’d rather these belong to the countries they originated from.”

“Sounds fair.”

They work quietly for long durations. Korekiyo will sometimes break the silence with a short comment.

“These can be thrown out. I believe there is a chute on the balcony up there.” Korekiyo hands Kirumi a short stack of damaged papers that are either torn beyond repair or have water damage. The chute opens with a creak and it takes a while for an impact noise to be heard when Kirumi drops them. It makes her feel slightly uneasy. As she descends the stairs Korekiyo hands her a stack of paper. A tiny corner of the front page is caught by a staple still inserted. 

“Do you recognize this, Kirumi?” her blood runs cold.

A thick stack roughly two inches tall. She thought her only charge was for the attempted assassination. Someone looked into her.

“I-”

“You have a very colorful history.”

Kirumi’s hands shake into the criminal records. She struggles to find words to say.

“I… I have nowhere to go after this. My face was aired for weeks before I was charged. I can’t go anywhere, I’ll be followed, The Holy Salvation Society won’t take me back there’s-” Kirumi catches her breath. She straightens her posture sharply, refusing to look Korekiyo in the eye. 

“Where did you find this.”

“I found it underneath my door after the morning announcements. Quite coincidental that we had plans today, isn’t it?”

Kirumi jerks her hand holding the papers to the side of her face. “No one gets to see this. I’m taking it with me. I can’t trust you or anybody with this information.”

“I had no plans to hurt you with those papers.”

“I’m not sure I can believe you with that.”

“Will you hurt me if I try taking those back?”

“They’re mine, they’re my records, they belong to me.” she doesn’t mean to raise her voice or stern her tone, but she does.

“Yes, but will you hurt me if I try to take those back?” Korekiyo tilts their head.

Korekiyo’s eyes crinkle.

“Will you hurt me if I tell other people?”

Kirumi stares at them, eyes wide. Her breathing comes out in short, heavy huffs.

“You look deranged, Kirumi.”

Kirumi takes out the short-bladed kitchen knife from her skirt pocket and leaps over the handrail, tackling Korekiyo. She has the front of their body pinned by her pelvis, the blade of the knife hovers in Kirumi’s hands over the center of their face.

“I’ll cut your tongue off myself, don’t you dare threaten my life!”

“...” 

“You’re beautiful.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to thank Cherry for proofreading and editing this fic anyways thank you Cherry for proofreading and editing this! Their Instagram is @ envia8le please look at their cool cosplays. 
> 
> I will update this fic ehhhh... every week? Please hold me accountable I want to finish this so bad.


	3. Army Dreamers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does have Korekiyo's sister in it, who comes with grooming and homophobia (nothing graphic), so fair warning.

She was taken aback. ‘You’re beautiful.’ What the hell does that mean? She moves her head away from Korekiyo’s face and relaxes her grip on the knife slightly.

“...What?”

Korekiyo lifts their hand slowly to brush against the side of Kirumi’s face, they tilt their head to get a better look at the side of her face hidden by her bang. They lift her hair and become enamored with the sight of Kirumi’s undivided face. Korekiyo strokes the underside of her high cheekbones fondly. They meant every word they said. Kirumi is delightfully intimidating, Kirumi is fine as she is, Kirumi is truthful, Kirumi is beautiful. 

“Is this alright?”

Kirumi places her hand on Korekiyo’s wrist briefly, breaths still short from her attack moments ago, she shoves their hand away. 

“You will burn those papers, and I will watch you do it. I can not have a target on my back.” 

Korekiyo shuts their eyes and sighs, “I do apologize for the trouble I have caused you, Kirumi.”

She had never been shown affection since she left the orphanage. Kirumi didn’t really know how to feel about the way Korekiyo spoke to her. She stood up sharply and put the knife away before dusting her skirt. Korekiyo got up on their own with a wince. The impact from Kirumi tackling them hurt their shoulder.

“I want to know.”

“Hm?”

“I want to know more about you, Kirumi.”

Kirumi wanted to laugh, she should be the one asking that. Korekiyo seemed too interested in her for her to understand. The only interesting thing she has going for her is her career; people tell her that she’s bone-dry in personality. She turns her back on them and bends to collect the papers from her record.

They were silent for a while. The only place Kirumi knew that had an open flame was the kitchen. She and Korekiyo stood together as they burnt her papers over the gas stove. She hopes no one will ask about the smell. 

“If anyone asks, I was burning incense.”

Kirumi startled, glancing at the figure beside her. They shrugged.

As they reach the last, Korekiyo fumbles with their hands. Too nervous to come up with words for a small second, they take a breath and speak.

“I’ll finish the organization later. You can have the rest of the day to yourself. I’m sorry for messing with you. You’re… I can’t thumb past your eyes and read your brain- see everything wonderful about you. You deserve to reserve and open yourself as you wish.”

Kirumi shuts her eyes, “Do you have your papers?”

“Ah yes, I suppose if you bared your sins I should bare mine. I do not know who has my papers, however, I can guess what I’m here for.”

“Not what I had in mind. I feel like Monokuma sent us these to make us start killing. If we gather and destroy everyone, the problem will lessen itself.” 

She drums her fingers on the edge of the stove. “Of course, Akamatsu allowed her group to look at the papers. I can’t imagine that it will do any good to ease distrust.”

“Right…”

“But, if you wish to tell me, I would not mind.” Kirumi looks at Korekiyo and she swears she can see Korekiyo’s heart pounding. There’s so much fear in their eyes.

“You don’t have to if-”

“No, I… think it would only be fair. I think it could be good for me… I think you are truthful enough to keep it secret.”

“We can go somewhere else if you want. The walk may calm you.”

“My room... How about my room?”

Kirumi nods curtly. She leads Korekiyo to the kitchen door with her hand hovering over the small of their back. 

Korekiyo sits on the edge of their unmade bed. Kirumi starts to make it before Korekiyo tells her they like it that way. She folds her hands in front of her waist, taps her foot, and avoids eye contact with Korekiyo. She knows she’s probably being rude, but she can’t help it.

“You may sit down… you must be tired after this afternoon.”

Kirumi sits, leaving a buffer space between them, and looks at Korekiyo- waiting for their story.

“My sister, she was in hospice. I was the one taking care of her. She had fallen ill and begged me for her death. I’m now not sure if she was suffering, or if I had forsaken her. I assisted her in her suicide, gave her pills, held her hand after she downed the bottle… It took her several turns of having sips of water and tossing as much as she could swallow. It wasn’t quick, she was awake and waiting for so long until she dosed away. I watched her the whole time.”

Kirumi’s hands are folded in her lap. She was never good at comforting people. She felt a bit ill.

“She asked why I let her do that.”

///

Yaeko Shingujji poked at their campfire. She had her nose rested on the front of her hand, looking deeply into the orange and yellow hues. She looked up to her little brother, who was struggling to stay awake and warm. A feltish blanket was wrapped around their shoulders. They tried writing in their journal, but their freezing fingertips would not correspond with their head.

“Why don’t you set that down for tonight.” Yaeko mirrored her words and set the hot metal rod into the dirt, blade facing away from her side.

“...If I sleep I’ll forget what I want to write down. I still have a lot to write.”

“No one is holding you accountable except for yourself. Your words will come back to you after breakfast. Your pallet is made in the car, go rest.”

Korekiyo rubbed their nose that was leaking snot. Everything was so cold, the fire did nothing to help. They got up and walked towards the car.

‘Sssss.’

“Aghhh…!” Korekiyo sucked in their breath, they had stepped on the end of the metal rod. They lifted their foot to rub at the wound for a second before hopping back onto the ground and continuing their walk. If they turned on the car light maybe they could write more. Korekiyo stops in their tracks when their sister speaks.

“I keep telling you to be more careful. If you had watched where you were going you wouldn’t have stepped on that.”

Korekiyo wanted to tell her that she should’ve stuck it in the dirt so the earth would absorb the heat like you’re supposed to, but they didn’t want to argue. Korekiyo got in the trunk of the car, turned on the front seat light, curled up in their pallet, and continued to write. They fell asleep with their journal open. 

In the morning Korekiyo woke up to the sound of Yaeko shooting cans off an old fence. She was slowly becoming obsessed with finding their father and putting a bullet through his head. He had abandoned his wife when she fell ill. Yaeko knows she’ll fall ill one day too, and prays her husband won’t do the same. 

It had taken them a few more weeks before they found him. Korekiyo begged Yaeko to just leave them in the car and not make them be in the same room where Yaeko would kill their dad. Yaeko said that they should be there to watch and learn, learn to never abandon a woman. 

Yaeko broke the window to their father’s house, crawled through, and picked up Korekiyo from under their arms. A light flickered on. 

“Yaeko?” He had a gun in his own hand. Yaeko shot her own out and pointed it at his face. She took one hand off to grab Korekiyo’s chin and turn it to their father. Korekiyo kept shaking their head and crying into their sisters' skirts. No no no no no no no…

Yaeko pulled the trigger and shot her dad in the center of his head.

The back of the wall splattered with blood and brains. Korekiyo peaked and immediately hit their head back in the skirt fabric. Wretched sobs worked its way out of their chest. Their head hurt, their throat hurt, they were sleepy, they wanted to sleep so bad. 

They didn’t bother going back to their mom. 

///

Korekiyo had arrived back from a trip to a village a few days ago. Yaeko stood behind them in a mirror and played with their hair. Korekiyo rolled back their shoulders to fix their posture..

“Your hair is getting so long lately. Do you want to look like me or what?” Yaeko laughed to herself.

“It’s hard to get a haircut in places that don’t consider them customary, I told you about that didn’t I?”

Yaeko spread Korekiyo’s long locks with her first two fingers. “So soft, so smooth. Mom gave you all her good genes.”

“...I miss her.” Korekiyo picked at the skin around their fingernails, Yaeko swatted their hand away.

“I miss her too.”

“We- we abandoned her like dad did, didn’t we?”

“Dad made a promise to her, we didn’t. We don’t have an obligation to her just because she raised us.”

“...” Yaeko smoothed the top of Korekiyo’s hair like a cat. 

“Yaeko can I tell you something…”

“Hm?”

“I think I like boys.”

Yaeko said nothing and stopped petting Korekiyo’s hair.

“Boys and girls…”

Yaeko hummed and looked at Korekiyo through the mirror. She grabbed their chin and forced them to look up.

“You like me, and only me- you understand?” Korekiyo tried to nod, Yaeko could tell.

“Good.”

Yaeko fell ill a few years later. 

“You can’t abandon me, you can’t leave me to rot like dad did to mom! If you leave me I’ll kill you- I’ll kill you! I’ll make it a hundred times worse than what I did to dad. You can’t leave me!” When Korekiyo wept and said nothing she spun and sobbed in her hands over the sink she threw up in.

Korekiyo had their hands held to cover the tears on their face. They caught their breath after calming down. “I-I’m not going to leave you. Please don’t say those things…”

She gagged and held back dry heaves. Her palms laid flat on the ceramic counter of the sink with her arms bent. Yaeko stared up at Korekiyo. Korekiyo could swear that the face she was making meant she was angry, but they had trouble reading facial expressions, and Yaeko’s emotions confused them even more.

“Yaeko you’re… you’re beautifully made, and I will make sure that you live. I’m forever grateful to you.”

“... You won’t leave me, you promise? Do you promise not to abandon me?”

“I promise...”

‘“If I die will you go with me?”

“...”

“Yes... yes, I will go with you.”

“You love me... right.”

“I love you...”

“I love you so, so much, Korekiyo. Never forget everything I did for you.”

///

Korekiyo’s head rested on Kirumi’s shoulder. One hand was hugging their back and the other rubbed up and down the back of their head. Static formed from Kirumi’s glove and Korekiyo’s hair, it couldn’t have been comfortable.

She still felt that she wasn’t good at comforting, but it didn’t seem like Korekiyo minded. Their arms rested around Kirumi’s shoulders. Korekiyo picked at the medical tape on the tip of their fingers, not really thinking of anything. Uncomfortably numb. They never told anyone about the death of their sister.

They separated when they heard the screen in Korekiyo’s room flicker on. 

_ ‘Ding dong, bing bong.’ _

“A body had been discovered! After a certain amount of time, which you may use however you like, the class trial will begin!”

Dread washed down on them.

///

Rantaro Amami was dead on the floor of the library. His trial was short-lived. Monokuma had not tuned in to Shuichi’s monitor this morning, all Shuichi found was a note in his bathroom that stated people who were not here for a felony: himself, Hoshi, and Rantaro. He knew himself and Hoshi were here under law enforcement and knew that Rantaro did indeed have a felony against him- he knew what felony too. A mastermind had to have infiltrated this prison somehow, and it was strange that Rantaro didn’t know much about himself or his talent. Rantaro didn’t even know the crime he was here for. 

He suspected that the mastermind assumed the identity of a convict without doing their research. 

The more the trial went on, the more he realized that he had been wrong, and he couldn’t bear to make everyone argue anymore. 

His execution was short and simple. Monokuma told them afterward that it wouldn’t be the same for everyone else. 

Crimson poured from Shuichi’s head. His body was in the same position as Rantaro’s. 

_ May their souls rest forever in peace. _

The sun sets into a brownish, ugly color. Kirumi can hear Maki arguing with Kaede for breaking down. Maki says she was the one Shuichi trusted his will to, so she should not be weak. Kirumi thinks it's selfish that she doesn’t want to interfere and defend Kaede, but she’s tired and just wants to sleep. 

Tomorrow she can make a nice meal to lighten the spirits of everyone. Her thoughts cut once she hears from Maki again.

“Swear to God you’re just like Hideaki. You both are too emotional. She… yeah, she always tried taking care of everyone, and came crying to me when she overworked herself.” Kaede sniffled twice, sounding very full of snot.

“Yeah?” Kaede laughs and sniffles again, “You said you liked her, is that your way of confessing to me?” She sniffles and laughs again.

“Shut up.” Maki messes with her bow.

Kirumi doesn’t freeze, she just slows.

Hideaki was her old name.

Kirumi decides to leave it alone. Maybe she can bring it up tomorrow. If she barges in and mentions it to Maki, she’ll think she’s insane. 

///

Sure enough, she wakes up with a crick in her neck. She makes coffee and brushes her teeth in the shower. She spits into the drain and looks at herself after wiping the steam from the mirror.

When did she start looking so old? Pushing twenty isn’t an expression for a reason. Maybe she shouldn’t have stolen her clients cigarettes. She stopped smoking years ago though. Maybe she was too stressed? That sounds more appropriate. 

Sighing, she gets dressed- best to busy herself so she doesn’t have to hear her thoughts.

Hoshi requested her time after the trial for this afternoon. He said he needed to start training again so he wouldn’t fall into a rut. 

“You got it? I don’t need to teach you the rules or anything?

“I worked for rich people, you think they didn’t make me play against them?” Kirumi dribbles the tennis ball, throws it up, and serves it to Hoshi.

Hoshi hits back, “I wouldn’t consider tennis to be a rich sport. You ever been to the big cities or America? They have tennis courts in almost every park.”

Kirumi hits back, “Well I still think a large number of rich people enjoy it, and it’s different when they have their own tennis court.”

Hoshi hits back, “Answer the last question.”

Kirumi hits back, “Yes I have been to the big cities and America.”

Hoshi hits back, “What did you go to America for?”

Kirumi hits back, “Surgery.”

Hoshi hits back, “What was the surgery for?”

Kirumi hits back, “My boobs.”

Hoshi hits back, “Cancer???”

Kirumi hits back, “You’re a rational man right?”

Hoshi hits back, “Yeah, I guess?”

Kirumi hits back, “If you ever found my birth certificate, you’d see a big fat ‘M’ where sex is.”

Hoshi hits back, “Ahhhhh. Well, they look nice.”

Kirumi misses, and the ball hits the wall and rolls back towards the net. She’s out of breath. She chases the ball and hands it to Hoshi. 

“Good job, Tojo.” He gives her a thumbs up. She feels a little pride. 

They get dressed in the dressing room adjacent to the tennis court. 

“Awfully weird they made it look like a prison in here.” says Kirumi.

“I was in prison for a long time.”

“Right; it still seems cruel.” 

Hoshi tip toes to open the window that leads into the indoor pool, fishes out a pack of cigarettes, and sits on the corner of a sink. 

“You want one?” he holds out the pack.

“Sure.” Kirumi puts one in her mouth and Hoshi goes to light it. Kirumi thinks it’s a little intimate. After today she would consider Hoshi a friend, however. He’s very cool to her. Kirumi’s very cool to him too.

“What did you get locked up for? I think you’re the only person here now that isn’t here for a felony.”

“Not directly, and it’s a long story.” he sighs out a stream of smoke. 

“You don’t have to tell if you don’t want to.”

“Maybe next time.” he looks down

“Right.” Kirumi gives a curt nod.

They sit in silence, Kirumi breaks it. 

“This morning Ouma pissed off Iruma, and you know what she did? She tried to light him on fire with a flamethrower.”

“I would do the same if I had the audacity.” Kirumi snorts.

“Right, but the thing is, she burnt the curtains on one of the windows. All the ashes stuck to the glass. I cleaned it, and of course neither her or Ouma bothered to help. I saw them laughing it up later during lunch, and that just made me so mad for some reason?”

“Do they thank you for your meals?”

“No, they don’t.” Kirumi takes a long inhale of her cigarette.

“That’s probably why it made you mad. You did a lot of work for them and they don’t appreciate you. They’re your ungrateful children and you’re their mother..”

“Please don’t call me that.” Kirumi shut her eyes and her face scorned.

“Mother? Yeah, sorry. I’ll put that in my notes.”

“You have no idea how many times I’ve been called that since I came here, more than in my entire life.”

“It bugged you before?”

“Yeah, the kids of my clients would call me their mom cause I was usually more present than their parents. I would always tell them to stop out of respect for their real mother.”

“Kids are weird.” Hoshi turns on a sink and puts out his cigarette under the water.

“Kids are weird. I remember this girl I played with at my orphanage, when we played house I was always the mom and she was the dad.”

“You think that has something to do with the mom issue?”

“I don’t know, I just thought of it now.”

“Mm.” Hoshi nods and crosses his arms.

“I think she’s here.” Kirumi looks up at Hoshi.

“Hm?”

“I think that girl is here. Maki Harukawa, I think she’s her.”

“Weird, what makes you say that.”

“She mentioned my birth name in passing and described something I remember. Plus she shares the same first name.”

“Yeah, that is weird, and checks out. Coincidental that you both ended up here, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“You should really put that out.” Kirumi’s cigarette started fizzling near her fingers.

“Ah, uhh.” She looked around for a place to put it out.

“Here.” Hoshi held out his hand and turned back to the sink-facing away from Kirumi- to turn on the faucet and put it out.

“I shouldn’t really do that again. I fear I look old from them.”

“You don’t, and hey, Tojo?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for spending time with me. I’ve been having a hard time getting out of bed lately. Making plans with you helped motivate me, some.” 

  
“It’s no problem, you’re free to request my time at any point.”

“Yeah, but don’t feel obligated because you’re a maid. You can have friends too and just... be with someone. You’re still young, have some fun sometime. Like today, you had fun today right?” 

“Yeah, also ‘still young’? How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

“You’re still young too.”

“Yeah, well. You think about death so much and eventually you start feeling closer to it.”

Kirumi didn’t say anything.

“You don’t want to hear about that though, do you?”

Kirumi could kill him right now. She’s trained to cover up crimes perfectly. He doesn’t want to live anyways,

‘You’d be doing him a favor.’

“Hey, Kirumi, Kirumi. You okay there?” Kirumi snaps out of her thoughts.

“Lost you there for a second, everything alright?”

Kirumi sighs, “Yeah, everything is alright.”

Kirumi makes Dan Dan noodles for dinner. She sits next to Kaede again. She notices that Maki sits across from Kaede now. Kaede looks a little more relaxed after eating her food.

“That was very delicious- thank you, Tojo.”

“Thank you, Tojo.” Maki adds.

Best not to bring it up right now either, Kirumi thinks to herself. She nods at Maki and Kaede

“You’re always welcome to request this again, or whatever food you want. The library has an extensive cooking section”

Korekiyo’s talent room has an even more extensive cooking section. She shakes that thought away. She fears things are awkward between them now. Korekiyo sits in a corner of the table with Himiko and Gonta, not even looking at her. 

‘What a prick, no that’s mean. Why did I think that? They had a long day that day.’ Kirumi stabs her food.

‘You assaulted them you fucking freak.’

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again ty to Cherry @envia8le on Instagram for proofreading and editing! If you liked Shuichi I'm sorry.


	4. Them Heavy People

All of Kirumi’s hard work had paid off: the entire interior of the school had been cleaned- to the extent of what she could do. Of course, there were still repairs and maintenance that had to be done; the entire building was falling apart and it looked worse by the day. Every time it rained, the first floor would flood and she would spend her morning pushing water out of the front door with a steel broom. She was thankful all of the talent rooms were relatively new, and that Kiibo’s room was well insulated. She often worried for his safety. 

Kirumi worried for a lot of people here; people absorbed in peculiar talents weren’t always the most sound. She was the odd one out, she felt. Her talent was just glorified everyday, normal tasks that everyone does. She just happened to have more energy than other people. 

She wonders what happened to the president after everything that happened. 

She wonders who filled her role after she was arrested. 

These thoughts often prevented her from sleeping soundly. It didn’t matter though, she always woke up with the same amount of energy no matter how late she stayed up. 

Waking up an hour before the morning alarm sounded gave her time to shower, get dressed, and perform routine cleaning. Her talent room was where the wall of washer and dryers were, so she often ran into one or two people who were collecting their uniforms. Kirumi always offered to do it for them, one thing someone said in response stuck with her though.

“I still want to feel useful, do something for myself, you know? I appreciate everything you do, Tojo! But sometimes it can be a little overbearing.” It had been Kaito who said that, but to Kirumi it didn’t matter. Everything she did was wrong somehow. She never did anything right. She wasn’t good for anything and all of these people could do the same things she did. She was sure others felt the same as Kaito. 

She apologized, smiled, and went to make breakfast. Miso soup, rice, and grilled fish for today. Kaede always made sure to tell Kirumi that her food was good. Kirumi noticed that Maki seemed to be the only person to not come to the dining area for breakfast each morning.

“Akamatsu, may I ask you something?”

“Hm?”  
  


“You seem close with Harukawa, does she not eat breakfast? I notice her dish either isn’t touched or someone else eats it after a while.”

“I think she said she spends her morning working out, or something. I can’t remember… I can deliver it to her room if you want.” Kaede sips on her soup.

“That’s quite alright. I can ask her later.”

Kaede hums into her spoons and sips some more soup. “Hey, Tojo?”

“Yes, Akamatsu?”

“You didn’t overhear our argument a few days ago did you? I noticed you were cleaning close to where we were when I left. Sorry about that.” she lets out a dry laugh and avoids eye contact with Kirumi. 

“I did, I’m afraid. Sorry for eavesdropping.”

“No no! Don’t be, please, just…” Kaede taps her foot and thinks for a moment. She motions for Kirumi to lean in and lowers her voice to a whisper.

“Just please don’t tell anyone about us, okay? I know I like to tease Maki and how that sounds like flirting but… you know?”

“Right.” Kirumi agrees, equally quiet.

“I’m just scared after everything that happened. I worry we might become targets if someone finds out.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone, Akamatsu. You have my word.”

A vile, gross feeling in her head flashed in her head and she suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. It wasn’t Kaede’s fault. There was something wrong with her. The more she thought about them the more it grew. 

///

“That sounds like jealousy.” Hoshi hits a tennis ball back to Kirumi. Kirumi misses the ball and tosses her racket down, out of breath. She rubs some sweat off her brow with her wrist and drinks from a water fountain.

She gasps for air once she has her fill, “I don’t even know for sure if she’s the girl I’m talking about. I’m being batshit if she’s not. She hasn’t talked to me once except for when she complimented my food, and here I am thinking about her every single second.” her feet pace without thinking about it before she sits on a bench.

“Well, the worst thing that happens if she’s not that same person is that you were wrong, and you can treat her normally from now on. Start over a little. Why haven’t you talked to her about it yet? You have a lot of evidence.”

Kirumi hits the back of her hand against her forehead briefly out of frustration, eyes screwed tight. “It’s not- there’s never an appropriate time! It’s always a bad time, she’s either out of it, in a bad mood, or she’s talking to Kaede.” 

The bright lights in the tennis court get to her. They hum too loudly. She starts rubbing her wrists together.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I think you’re overcomplicating it. The worst that happens is Maki thinks you’re a little weird… and that’s okay. There’s plenty of people here that like you if that fails.”

“Huh?”

“People here like you, Kirumi. You do stuff for them and plenty of people appreciate it. I think they’re just, I don’t know, scared of you or something? You are the tallest second to Gonta. Plus you have that spooky, emo thing going on.”

“You’re one to critique my uniform, mister leather jacket and under eyeliner.” her tone is more dejected than she wants it to be. 

“Yeah well, I’m small. So people make fun of me instead. I would take being scared over that.”

Kirumi huffs and looks down at her feet.

“Sorry, you didn’t want to hear that.” 

“No it’s fine, I just. I’ve just had a long week.”

“I think everyone has. But you make it a little more tolerable every day. Not a lot of people wanted to get out of their rooms after Amami and Saihara died, but you made them gather their laundry and then served them breakfast.” he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and swings his leg while silence fills the air. 

“I think you’re the most selfless person here, Tojo.”

Kirumi’s head is fuzzy. She doesn’t deserve it. She’s just in it for the long haul. She’ll leave all these people behind one day or go crazy and kill them all. It’s bound to happen. She’s bound to betray everyone she meets. 

“Kirumi? Hey…” Snot drips from her nose onto her wrist, then wet heavy teardrops.

Hoshi looks away from her, “I’m… not good with these things, but if you’re upset it’s okay.” 

Kirumi wipes her face with the back of her arm. Hoshi decides to sit next to her.

“I’m... not a good person, Hoshi.” She desperately doesn’t want to cry right now. Not in front of Hoshi. She breathes shallowly to hold everything back.

“Nobody is here for a good reason. I’ve probably done worse things than you did.”

“I hurt people. I fuck up everything good that comes my way and everything bad that ever happened to me was my fault.” she lets out a shaky breath and a few more tears slide down her cheeks. 

“...”

Hoshi pats her shoulder, “You haven’t been happy in a while, have you?” 

Kirumi shrugs, she looks away from where Hoshi is sitting and stares at a corner of the room. She knows she can’t just leave at this point.

“I think you’re like me, Kirumi. Do you want to know why I’m here?”

Kirumi doesn’t say anything. They sit in silence a bit longer.

“Alright then, I was invited to an underground tournament hosted by a mafia organization. I tried ignoring their invitations but they kept sending more, so I gave in. The matches were fixed, however, and a bunch of rich people were gambling on our ‘wins’.” 

He looks at Kirumi and sees that she’s still spaced out, but it looks like the tears have stopped.

“I was too proud. I decided to crush the last guy and win one match so I wouldn’t look like an idiot. That ruined the organization- they went after my family. None of them survived.”

Kirumi’s blood runs cold, she wonders if it was her who did that. No… no, it couldn’t be. She never had to kill several people.

“I managed to get my girlfriend to safety but they found her too.”

Hoshi sighs, “I tracked down their next tournament location and killed everyone that was at the pre-match. I got put on death row, but then I got a second chance with this place.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. But I think it’s a little cruel how I just ended up in another killing scenario. I don’t think I’d ever do anything like that ever again. I wouldn’t want to go back to prison after all of this.”

“I’m sorry you’re… you’re spilling your guts to me, but I don’t think I could tell you what I did without you feeling repulsed by me.”

“I still don’t think you did anything worse than me. But hey, you can pull a me and wait until next time? C’mon, let’s get dressed.”

They change back into their uniforms and smoke their own cigarette together. 

“Where did you get these?” Kirumi leans out of the window leading to the interior pool so she won’t smell like smoke later.

“There’s a casino a little aways from this building. There’s always a positive payout and money doesn’t really mean anything here. You can get some interesting stuff though. Not all of it is very wholesome though.”

“Huh, anything I would like?”

“Some booze you can use to cook with. Wine, beer- you know.”

“Hm, maybe I'll pay it a visit sometime. I don’t think gambling is that good for me though.”

“Again, positive payout every time.”

Kirumi nods and snuffs out her cigarette.

“Thanks again for spending time with me, Kirumi.”

“Likewise.”

  
  


///

Sure enough, the Casino is everything that could make her go insane. Bright-flashing lights, loud music with slot machine noises added on top, and most of all- a strong incentive to gamble and lose the entirety of her night trying to make a lot of money. Turns out the coins she found while cleaning wasn’t as useless as she thought. 

The positive payout makes things a little boring, but she does find it fun when she gets MORE money and not less. After she gets a good amount, she stops herself and goes to cash out her earnings. Sure enough, there’s booze in the back of the prize exchanging booth she can use for cooking. Plenty of useful things like a stainless steel tray and some jewelry. There’s also a tennis ball set that she could get for Hoshi.

...She sees a teddy bear in one of the cases. She bounces on her toes and groans; she had to throw away all her toys and all of the things she liked when she was adopted. The first thing she was taught was that things were things and you should never be sentimental. That only makes your job harder. 

But, she doesn’t have to do her job if she’s here forever. Wait... didn’t Maki like teddy bears? She could get it for her... no that’s stupid, she’s a teenager now. She probably doesn’t like those things anymore. Wait, why does _she_ want the teddy bear, is she being a fucking child? 

She decides to look at the top shelf where the expensive items are. Some of them are appropriately expensive; soundproof headphones, a permit for a Banyan Tree, a space egg? The ridiculously expensive items on the shelf are weirder: a lucky button and a love key? 

She looks in one of the trash bags she brought to hold her earnings. She certainly has enough money to buy one. 

She gets the love key. She does not feel different.

She gets the teddy bear. She does feel different.

After Kirumi puts away the stuff she bought for herself in her room, she sets the rest of her earnings in the middle of the dining room so everyone can have their fill. The alcohol she won is used to make chicken marsala for dinner. Several people thank her this time; it makes her feel good. 

Maki is nowhere to be seen. She thinks of the worst before she thinks to ask Kaede.

“Maki? Oh, yeah, she said she’s not feeling well. Bet she wishes she had your soup this morning, huh? That might have helped her.”

Kirumi makes honey citrus peach tea for Maki. Kokichi bugs her on the way asking if he can try some and repels when Kirumi tells him it’s medicine. She knocks on Maki’s door and clears her throat.

“Miss Harukawa? It’s Kirumi. Akamatsu told me you weren’t feeling well so I brought you some tea. Can I come in?”

She doesn’t hear anything, Kirumi worries for the worst.

“...I’m coming in, okay? Tell me to stop if you don’t want me in.” She grips the doorknob and turns it while still keeping the door shut, she waits for a response and pushes the door open when she doesn’t hear anything.

Maki is nowhere to be found. Kirumi does see light pour from the bottom of her bathroom and goes to knock once more.

“Harukawa?”

“...” Kirumi hears the sound of objects hitting the floor. “Who the hell are you?”

“It’s Kirumi Tojo, I’m here with medicine.”

“I don’t need your care. I'll be fine on my own.”

Kirumi presses her lips together and looks at the ground, “Right, well, it’ll be on your nightstand if you need it.”

“Can you just get the fuck out? I’m sorry, but everything sounds too grating right now. I need to just be alone.”

“Whatever you wish, I will come back if I do not see you at breakfast tomorrow.” Kirumi turns to leave. She hears Maki retch and sets the tea on her nightstand. 

///

Kirumi is awakened by Monokuma’s intrusion at two in the morning. He tells her to turn in her key at the building by the casino. She pockets her kitchen knife in her nightgown in case it’s a threat. Maybe Kirumi wasn’t meant to have this. 

The building was drab and pale on the outside- you didn’t need a key to enter the building, but you did need it to get a room. A prerecorded message told her she’d room with a random student. Her heart dropped to her stomach when it told her it would be the fantasy of the other person. Love... Key... maybe she should have connected the dots sooner. It didn’t feel right to spend the night with people she barely knew. The implications of people not remembering the night they spend with people who stay here is worse. 

She could turn around if she really wanted to. 

The room was fairly innocent, against her expectations. The walls were painted baby pink and sheer drapery covered the bed. She’s thankful that she doesn’t see anyone in the room. She decides to go back to sleep. Four more hours of sleep would be more than enough for her. 

The sheets and comforter are like a dream to her, so soft and warm against the cool air of the room. She drifts off to sleep far easier than normal. Her back cries out from a change in mattress, however.

She awakes to the feeling of someone kneading their wrists into her upper back.

“My dear, you're so tense… You should take better care of yourself.” 

The massaging feels like heaven, but she’s more concerned with the hushed voice from above. She has trouble recognizing voices at a whisper. Kirumi feels around her hip and her head flashes in panic when she realizes her knife wasn’t there. She’s sure she would have felt someone pickpocket her, however. 

The next best thing to do in this situation would be to play along with the role in this person’s fantasy. A clothed hand slides down her back and she sighs into the touch. “Hmm…”

“I knew you’d like that.”

Kirumi turns her head to see who she was speaking to, dread fills her heart at the sight of Korekiyo Shinguji. 

They rub at a crevice in her neck and leans down to kiss her jaw gently… no this is… wrong. This is too intimate, she shouldn’t be seeing her classmate like this. She notices several things she’d never see otherwise. Scars, burn marks, and rope burns were plastered on their chest. They were wearing a sheer robe, leaving little room for imagination. She wouldn’t even know who Korekiyo would be fantasizing about, or how to act like them. 

“I’m- I’m good now. We can stop.” Kirumi turns to lay on her back, Korekiyo’s long hair tickles her face as they look at her from above.

“You look so gorgeous. I want to make you feel adored.” from this angle Kirumi might say the same thing, but she quickly brushes away the thought. This situation was more than inappropriate. She’s confused on how this hotel works but she was told that no one who entered the room with you would remember the night you spent. 

Oh God, what if someone spent the night with her and she didn’t know? What would her ‘fantasy’ even be?

“Korekiyo, this is nice, but I don’t feel right doing anything with you knowing you won’t remember. It feels unfair for you.”

“That matters very little to me, you came here for you, remember?”

“No, I didn’t know what that key was for. This all came from an impulsive purchase, really.”

“I might take being an impulsive purchase as an insult, but I’ve never been called that before, and it’s quite creative. You’re funny.” Korekiyo strokes the top of Kirumi’s hands 

“You’re not wearing your gloves.” They look up at Kirumi through half-lidded eyes and smile. Their makeup is smudged from a long day. 

“I don’t wear them when I go to bed…” Korekiyo’s hand runs up her arm and they pull her closer.

“Your skin is so soft.” their voice is almost a whisper. “Do you know how many times people have said I have ugly hands?” they shake their free hand limply for emphasis. Kirumi sees long, ribbed fingers and faint, pale scars on the front of their hand.

“Your hands aren’t... “ she huffs. Kirumi puts her head in her hand and runs her fingers through her hair.

“Oh Kirumi… I want to get all fucked up and tell you how I really feel. I want to write you books and talk about you.”

Kirumi’s hands drag up until her forehead rests on her wrists “Why **_… why_ ** can’t you talk like a normal person?” 

Korekiyo’s eyes go wide and their smile falters.

A beat of silence passes, staring eye-to-eye, and Kirumi is just about to apologize when Korekiyo’s other hand goes to her shoulder and pulls her in closer. They kiss her softly on the mouth.

Kirumi kisses back. Korekiyo’s lips feel like wax with their red lipstick on, they open their mouth and Kirumi follows with. Her arms snake around Korekiyo’s neck and hand limp against their back. ‘This is wrong’, she thinks. She was told that she would remember and her partner wouldn’t. Korekiyo is so _lovely_. Korekiyo’s hair is so soft and long. Maybe she can settle for just the image of them, and not their memory.

She certainly has enough money to do this again. 

No. That's gross, she thinks. Korekiyo pulls back and brushes Kirumi’s cheek fondly. “Your breath is so sweet.”

She decides, finally. She’ll let this happen. 

She rests her hand on Korekiyo’s side and pushes them down onto the bed with her. Korekiyo traces the curve of her waist with their fingertips. What else is there to do but melt into the touch.

The room is so cold.

The casino didn’t hurt her monetarily.

///

Breakfast is Kanapki served with tea. Kaede makes sure to thank her like always.

“How's Harukawa? I tried giving her tea yesterday, but she didn’t want me in her room.”

“I tried visiting her this morning but she didn’t want me in there either…”

“Good God, is someone holding her hostage? I’m forcing her to get medical attention.” Kirumi goes to stand up before Kaede pinches her sleeve. 

“Wait, Kirumi I don’t think-” Kirumi hits Kaede’s hand away with her wrist, hard enough to hurt. 

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME.” The dining hall goes hush, everyone stares at her for a pregnant second. She darts her eyes around the room before they go back to Kaede. She’s rubbing her hand with the other to ease the pain. Her eyes are big and worried.

“Oh my God, is Kirumi on edge???” Several heads turn to the direction of the outburst. Of course, it’s Kokichi. 

Kirumi pushes her chair in and mouths ‘sorry’ to Kaede. 

“Apologies, everyone, I will be visiting Maki now. There’s more food in the kitchen if anyone wants seconds.” She leaves the room as quickly as she can without appearing rude. 

Kirumi knocks twice on Maki’s door. “Miss Harukawa? It’s Kirumi Tojo, I’m checking in on you like I said before.”

“Go away.” 

“Harukawa, you’ve been keeping yourself in here for too long. People are starting to worry about you.” More like just her and Kaede, but they’re important aren’t they?

“Don’t-” she hears retching, “Don’t come in here.”

Kirumi turns the doorknob,, “Don’t-!”

Maki has her hand cupped under her chin and her neck is stretched to meet it. Her palm is full of drool and bright pink. 

Kirumi’s eyes trail down, there’s pink stains on Maki’s comforter, her carpet, her clothes.

Maki angrily slaps her hand on her bed and rubs the stain in, she shakes droplets of her drool and blood onto the carpet. “Sorry for the _mess,_ hey isn’t it your job to clean that shit up? Huh? Don’t come into my room without permission, asshole.” 

Kirumi sighs out of her nose. “I can take care of the mess, yes. But what the hell have you been keeping from us? You shouldn’t be so gravely ill that you’re choking up blood!”

“Yeah, well, if it’s infectious then you probably have it now. Don’t help me, you have to cook for everyone and people will get pissed if they don’t get your amaaaaazing food.”

“Christ, can you be serious about this?”

“I am plenty serious! I’m really worried about this! What makes you think I’m not?”

‘She’s probably angry because she’s in pain. Be nice to her.’

“I’m going to ask around and see if anyone is more equipped with this than me. Would you mind giving me your sheets so I can wash them?”

Maki shoves her covers off her. She’s wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Kirumi notices long, deep-looking scars scattered across her body. She doesn’t mention it, she’ll ask later. Maki doesn’t need more pain stacked on top of pain. 

Kirumi bundles the sheets and immediately goes to wash them. Maki’s right, if this is infectious then she needs to be as careful as possible handling Maki’s things. Kirumi changes out of her uniform in her talent room and throws them in with Maki’s sheets.

Angie and Korekiyo offer to look at Maki. Kirumi feels even more weird around Korekiyo than she did before, of course. But Maki needs help now more than Kirumi… also probably needs help.

“Now we’re no professionals! But, all of Harukawa’s symptoms seem like a virus rather than a bacterial disease, so yes, we all should probably stay away from her as much as possible. So sorry!!!” Angie gleams at Maki and Maki stares straight through her.

“I do think she still needs medical attention, perhaps only a few people should tend to her…” says Korekiyo.

“Well all three of us have already come into contact with her! Me, you, and Miss Kirumi should be the ones to see her!”

“Me and Angie can take shifts supervising her health and Kirumi can provide her with meals and whatever else she may need.” Maki makes a point to give everyone the silent treatment. She was supposed to rot and die in her room with dignity.

“Ohhhhh, Kirumi can give her breakfast in bed, how darling!” Angie plays with her beaded bracelet and looks up expectantly at Kirumi.

“Angie… would you also like breakfast in bed?”

“You said it, not me!”

“Right…” Kirumi might have to shorten her time spent with other people’s requests in order to take care of Maki. She doesn’t feel right that she left Maki throwing up blood into her toilet yesterday. She doesn’t feel right that Korekiyo is able to look her in the eye like nothing ever happened. God, what was wrong with her last night?

She explains to Hoshi her situation after she gives Maki her breakfast. She tells him they might have to shorten their meetups so Kirumi can tend to Maki.

“Well jeez, I hope she makes it out of this okay. I trust your abilities though.”

“I’m not even a proper maid.” Why did she let that spill out?

“Hm?”

“It’s a faux title. It was used to send me here- this prestigious prison for minds too good to waste- so that I wouldn’t get a scratch on my neck from actual prison.” every word out of her mouth is dripped with disgust. She still doesn’t know why she’s letting all of this out.

“Do you think you’re important enough for all that work? What did you _do_ , Kirumi?”

“Did you happen to turn on the T.V at all while you were in prison?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I was the pre-si-dent's daugh-ter!” She emphasizes her words and puts quotes around daughter with her hands.

“...Can you not do that?” Hoshi looks away from her.

“What?”

“Can you just talk to me about this like a normal person? Not talk to me like I’m an idiot? And, you know, not be cryptic or give me a riddle when you tell me this stuff? I hate it when people talk to me like that.”

“...”

“C’mon, I bared my sins for you and it seems like you’re ready to bear yours.”

“...Can we sit down? And talk where people won’t hear us?”

“Of course.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shoutout to Cherry @envia8le on instagram for editing this!

**Author's Note:**

> I am @Neptune__pluto on Instagram and @Mikamikanat on most other platforms. Every chapter is a kate bush song btw


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